John was taken home by his sons, Mark and Anthony, while police began to investigate if any crime had been committed. ibid. caption
Five lifeboats, two coastguard units, a helicopter and a spotter plane searched for John Darwin for 36 hours. Only a wrecked canoe and a paddle were found on a nearly beach. ibid.
On April 10 2003 John Darwin was officially declared dead. Shortly after, Anne claimed £162,000 in life insurance policies. ibid.
After 2,082 days missing, John Darwin handed himself in at a London police station. ibid.
The day after John Darwin’s reappearance, a British tabloid reporter received a tip-off that Anne Darwin was living in Panama City. ibid.
With Anne and John Darwin in custody, the police investigation began to focus on when Anne Darwin became involved in her husband’s disappearance and her part in the fraud. ibid.
We’ve taken a total concept, integrated it and built a whole new means of transportation. The Lady and the Dale I, Elizabeth Carmichael, Sky Documentaries 2022
But is the Dale all it is cracked up to be? … A notorious conman: Elizabeth Michael is actually Mr Jerry Dean Michael. ibid. television news
My father told me it was his partner’s idea to start making fake money. ibid. Jerry’s daughter
I didn’t realise that my daddy was unhappy being a man. ibid.
We’re going to shock General Motors, Ford and the rest of them right out of their big, overstuffed seats. The Lady and the Dale II, Elizabeth Carmichael
The Dale’s low centre of gravity always stayed within the triangle of three wheels so in theory it would be impossible to flip the car over. ibid.
We’re going to fill one hell of an important gap in the car market. ibid.
As the weeks went on I realised that we didn’t have the right equipment or anything to make a car. There was no masterplan. There was no schedule to make anything. ibid. engineer/designer
She was irate. She said, I just witnessed an abortion on three wheels … She had to run for the hills. ibid.
If I can stay out of jail, I intend to run for the presidency. The Lady and the Dale III
That’s how they got her – because she came back to say goodbye to her kids. ibid.
Once convicted, she fell into her old ways and skipped the date she was supposed to appear in court. She jumped bail. The Lady and the Dale IV, attorney
Interviewer: What do you prefer?
Elizabeth: Woman’s prison.
Interviewer: Why?
Elizabeth: Because I’m a woman. ibid.
Her transness was actually legally recognised in court. That represents a small measure of progress. ibid.
Other mobsters now make their living brokering major gas and oil deals between Russia, its neighbours and Western Europe, recording handsome profits for their clients and themselves. Misha Glenny, McMafia
In its first years of business, ETG (Eural Trans Gas) went from being a $12,000 business to recording $2 billion turnover, posting pre-tax profits of $180 million. ibid.
Gazprom is a monster. With an annual turnover of $30 billion ... Any gas coming out of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan that seeks a home of the Western European markets must travel through Gazprom’s pipelines ... Why, then, would Gazprom pay another firm, with which it had no ostensible connection, to transport gas that Gazprom owns through Gazprom’s pipelines? ... Unless, perhaps, those strangers were friends in disguise. ibid.
Putin let it be known that he was not going to tolerate such arch theft, and he singled-out Gazprom as a specific target for his attention. ibid.
ETG’s curious relations with shadowy companies in Cyprus, Turkmenistan, Moldova, the Seychelles, France, Britain and elsewhere emerged ... The ETG scam remains a mysterious, inscrutable affair. Whoever conceived the idea was determined to remain anonymous. ibid.
Jaime Queiroz had reached the end of his tether. For several days, Nelson Sakaguchi, a fellow director at the Banco Noroeste, a leading Brazilian private bank, had been stalling on an urgent request. The board had ordered Sakaguchi to hand over to Lopez all the documents relating to the previous three years’ business of its overseas operation in the Cayman Islands ... In the fax, Mr Williams explained that a Nigerian customer of Banco Noroeste had suggested the bank might be interested in an investment opportunity with the Ministry of Aviation ... The Nigerians were seeking about $50 million for the airport and Banco Noroeste’s capital only totalled $500. Before long, he had authorised the first transfer of $4 million and there was more to come ... The biggest single Advance Fee Fraud (or 419 scam, as it is also known) in history. ibid.
There are important reasons why Nigeria has become the Broadway of Crime – it is home to the most successful culture of financial fraud in history. ibid.
These partygoers are scammers. They work for an organised crime group known as Milton. They’ve had a good year. They’ve taken hundreds of millions from victims, and now they’re celebrating. The Billion Dollar Scam, BBC World News 2023
‘It makes me mad the wonderful wedding that I had will always be tinged with a bit of sadness and anger.’ The Big Swindle s1e1: The Wedding Planner Scammer, Quest Red 2023
‘Countless dozens have been scammed.’ ibid. journalist
Dana’s [Twidale] £2,000 package included a fully decorated marquee, a three-course meal for 100 people, Mr and Mrs letters and a photo booth. ibid.
Dana disappeared on 26th July 2019 leaving dozens of couples’ wedding plans in tatters. ibid.
She pleaded guilty fo 26 counts of fraud totalling nearly £58,000. ibid.
On 5th July 2021, Dana Twidale was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. ibid.
‘When I called I was told that the funeral plans didn’t exist, that Barry Stevenson had defrauded them.’ The Big Swindle s1e2: The Fake Funeral Fraud
Two weeks after their meeting, Barry Stevenson presents Beatrice Russell with details of her funeral plan. ibid. caption
A court date is set for January 2022 but Barry absconds and the police issues a warrant for his arrest. ibid.
Barry Stevenson pleads guilty to defrauding customers of just over £130,000 in a scam running between 2013 and 2019. ibid.
‘He [Rajesh Ghedia] was smart. He was clever. He was sophisticated. He was vice-president at Bank of America.’ The Big Swindle s1e3: The Million Pound Swindler, Wayne
‘Police noticed that a payment of £1.2 million had gone into his bank account.’
Virginia Water, England: In the 1990s Wayne launches an education business by creating an online platform. ibid.
On 9 January 2019, Wayne Johncock goes to meet Rajesh Ghedia to discuss his investment in Wayne’s company. ibid.
Ghedia convinces Wayne to invest his money into a personal wealth portfolio account to which Ghedia’s personal funds will then be added. ibid.
By 2021, police investigations reveal that Ghedia has committed further frauds. ibid.
Lyne Barlow Travel, County Durham: ‘The police are saying this is a massive scale. Hundreds of people have been conned.’ The Big Swindle s1e4: The Holiday Hoaxer, victim
When Lyne Barlow is arrested in September 2020, Paul and his group find themselves stranded in Turkey with their hotel manager threatening to call the police. ibid.
The amount Barlow defrauded was over £2 million … She was sentenced to 9 years in prison. ibid.
‘She [Nicole Elkabbas] told me she had cancer … She said she would need to go abroad … I fell for the oldest trick in the book.’ The Big Swindle s1e5: The Fake Cancer, Jo Mapp
‘Nicole tries to position herself with people who are prosperous, who are successful.’ ibid. expert
In 2016, Nicole asked Jo to help her sell tickets to a comedy and music night, promoting herself and local bands. ibid. caption
The GoFundMe crowdfunding page was launched in February 2018. ibid.
Scam Britain: is anyone safe? The methods fraudsters use. The devastating financial impact. And the emotional betrayal. Tonight: Scam Britain: How to Stay Safe, ITV 2023
It seems scams have simply become a fact of life in Britain today.
‘More than half of reported crime.’ ibid.